Pocket Monsters
by ZombieDinosaur
Summary: Imagine a world filled with real pokemon. I know that a live action adaptation is frowned upon...but hopefully this story can change your minds. Discover the adventure and mystery within the world of pokemon. There's danger around every corner as a young boy from Pallet Town goes on a journey that will change the world.
1. Introduction and Prologue

Introduction

I've been a fan of these small Japanese monsters for 15 years now. I know all of them by name and can tell you my favorites. I've thought about it for a long time…what makes these creatures and their respected franchise extremely popular? Then it hit me. It's a journey. In the games, you are travelling around that region (or multiple regions) and collecting, battling, and trading these monsters. But not only that, you are taking a challenge and in some cases…you are saving the world.

Over the years I watched as the number of creatures grew from 150 to nearly a thousand. And I honestly can say that I'm a true fan. I don't play the games to EV train. In fact, I'm repulsed by the idea. I don't play just to play the game. I play because I feel truly immersed. I feel these bits of data are real and they are my friends and partners.

It's quite foolish when you really look at it. But I always spent more time bonding with my pokemon than battling.

As a kid, I loved the anime. But now as I look back at it…it was still a cartoon.

And now…we live in a new age. An age where we can pet our pokemon in the latest installments and really see their personality take form. An age where we don't have to be afraid to say we still love and play pokemon. An age where we can try to imagine…what these creatures would be like in real life.

That's what this story will do.

I am writing this story to act as the first live action pokemon adventure. It does follow a source material, though. If you are familiar with the manga, Pokemon Adventures…it will follow that story and will feature similar characters. But there's a twist. There are more dangers. The regions will not feel so separated. And the main character will change from time to time.

This is to be told as a television series. One day I hope it becomes one…but for now…we shall just let imagination be our television.

Enjoy!

-D.C. B.

Prologue

It was a quite morning. It was always quite. Every day started just like the last one. There was a sense of tranquility. Perhaps that is why fewer and fewer people lived here. They are used to the big cities to the east. Not the peaceful environment here in Pallet Town.

It was once said that it was named Pallet Town because of the peacefulness. That it felt like a pallet plopped onto the land. A Garden of Eden, if you will.

But even the best days…have some woe.

A young boy rushed out of the small house and started running across the lawn with his arms straight out. He was running left and right. His mother called out to him.

"Red! What in heaven's name has gotten into you, child?" the young woman called out as she chuckled to herself.

"I'm a Pidgeot, momma!" the young boy recalled. "I'm a Pidgeot!" The mother chuckled again.

"You better watch out! I hear that there's some Fearow coming your way," the mother responded.

"I'll take care of them with my Wing Attack, momma!" Red said. He zoomed across the lawn and began flapping his arms. She chuckled again. "Can I go exploring?"

"Just be back before dinner," his mother exclaimed. "And don't get into any fights, my little Pidgeot."

That was Red's cue. He took off down the small hill. There was no stopping him now. He was soaring in the clouds and racing through the trees. He was the strongest and fastest Pidgeot. Nothing could stop him. The wind was racing as the young boy ran around. He stopped to catch his breath. He then heard the faintest cry. A wooing sound that seemed to be coming somewhere nearby. The boy began to search around following the tiny cries. The sound grew louder as the young boy approached the small shrubbery. He got down on his hands and knees and peered inside.

A small round creature was tucked inside the bush. It was dark blue in color with a strange spiral symbol on its round chest. Its skin looked wet. It's small round eyes stared at this new shape. Not with curiosity but with fear. Red held out his hand and the small creature shot scorching hot water from its mouth. Red recoiled in pain. He held his hand. He backed away from the creature. But the cries continued. It sounded like the creature was hurt or scared. Red thought of how he would feel if he got lost and hurt. He'd probably hurt someone too.

"It's ok," Red said to the small creature as he began to crawl back to it. "My name's Red. I'm not gonna hurt you." The creature's cries became soft. Red looked at the creature. It had two short stubby legs and a long, flat, transparent tail. But it wasn't until Red looked at the creature's feet and tail a second time that he saw why it wasn't running away. Its legs and tail were tied together with what looked like string. Red found this string to be very odd. It was hard to see and looked very thin. Red mustarded up all his courage and plunged his hands into the creature's sanctuary one last time. He grabbed the small slimey creature and pulled it from the bush. Even as the creature continued to shoot water and struggle against Red's grip. But Red fought against it. He began to work with the string. The creature stopped struggling for a minute; it began to understand that Red was not an enemy. Red pulled the string and stretched it and did everything he could. And finally, the string ripped. It was then that Red discovered that the string was in fact webbing from a bug. Red suspected it was most likely a Caterpie or Weedle. He would often go looking for bug pokemon in the backyard and found all sorts. He would play with the Caterpies but his mother warned him about Weedles.

'They have that big horn on their head for a reason. They sting', his mother's words echoed in Red's head. It wasn't easy being a five year old boy.

Red loved pokemon. He knew all the creatures that would often visit Pallet Town. He would wake up to the sound of Pidgeys and Pidgeottos singing in the early morning. His mother once found a Rattata in the house. That made Red's day. And Red would catch the bug pokemon near his house. Red would often watch television and he learned about the other pokemon around the world.

But this pokemon…this one was new. Red had never seen it before. Nor had he heard about it. Red remembered that the programs he watched always said that new pokemon were being discovered. It didn't seem unusual to meet a new one.

The webbing was gone from the small creature. It opened its eyes and mouth. A joyful cry escaped from the small mouth above its chest. Red giggled at the small creature. He placed the creature back on the ground. And before Red could do anything else…the small creature ran back into the bush and was gone.

Red felt somewhat relieved that he helped the creature…but he wanted to know more about it. So he got back down on his hands and knees and crawled through the bush. The bush was much larger than it looked on the outside. Red continued to make his way through when a sharp pain struck his arm. He looked down to his right and saw that the small horn of a Weedle was stuck into his arm. The hairy, gray worm blinked and removed its stinger from Red's arm. He stumbled back away from the Weedle, which was already moving on, and fell. He forgot that there was a hill on the other side of the bush. He was rolling and tumbling down the steep hill and stopped when he plunged into the small lake not too far from the bush.

Red hurt all over. He was scared and hurt. But Red couldn't cry. He couldn't do anything but fall. He felt cold and felt darkness surround him. He let the air escape his lungs peacefully as he watched the bubbles float to the surface. He began to close his eyes when he saw the small creature again. It began to swim towards him. But Red noticed something odd about the creature now. It was glowing. He watched the small creature race towards him and grow larger. Not only that, but it grew arms too. He closed his eyes as the creature grabbed a hold of him. Red felt himself soar again.

He was flying.

…

When Red awoke, he was back on the shore. And the creature…his savior…was sitting right next to him. It was a little bigger now. It was almost the size of him. It didn't have a tail anymore and its mouth was gone and was replaced by a nose. Its hands were all white. But it didn't run away. Red coughed slightly and the creature recoiled. But Red smiled and the creature closed its eyes with joy. It was happy to see Red again.

"You're a funny little thing, you know that?" asked Red. The creature made a weird gurgling noise. Red took that as a yes.

"I wish I knew what kind of pokemon you are," Red said. He paused for a moment. "Thanks for saving my life. I don't know how to swim. I was trying to find you…and then a Weedle stung me."

The creature made the noise again.

"I bet that's the one that tied you up in that bush, huh?" Red asked.

The creature agreed.

"Well, the weird thing is…that sting doesn't even bother me anymore. They say Weedles have a one in three chance of poisoning something when they sting. I guess I got lucky," said Red. He stood up. The creature stood up too.

"I think momma's gonna be calling me for dinner soon. I'll see you around. Or maybe…maybe she'll make a little extra for you," said Red. The creature gurgled. "Come on. Let's go back to my house. Momma's gotta love you better than those Rattatas last week."

The two began to climb the hill and their friendship was born.

Across the water, something stirred in the bush. A long, pink tail moved left and right. The pink creature then darted and flew up into the sky.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins

Chapter One: The Journey Begins

The morning was quiet. It was the normal in Pallet Town. But today wasn't as quiet in the past. Something big was happening.

"Do you see it?" a young boy asked. The small group of children gathered around. Six of them were watching. "It's been there for nearly an hour now."

He was referring to the large creature standing in the middle of town. It was large. About the size of a car. It was dark purple with spikes all over it. Its most prominent feature was the large horn on its face. It walked on all fours and its long snout was full of razor sharp teeth.

"What is it?" one of the young girls asked. A voice answered from behind. The boy was wearing a red coat and hat and his denim jeans were rugged and dirty. His long black hair stuck out from under his hat. It matched his black t-shirt under his jacket.

"Don't you know anything?" the boy asked. "That's a Nidorino!"

"Wow! I've never seen one around here," said a young girl.

"Yeah, Nidorino's aren't very common here in Pallet Town. This one must've come from Viridian City," said the boy.

"You know a lot about pokemon, don't you?" asked another boy.

"Sure do! The name's Red. I've been a pokemon trainer for nearly 5 years now," said the boy. But he looked back at the giant creature. It roared as it looked at the humans. "So, what are you guys gonna do? Are you just gonna watch it?"

"Nope! We bought a few pokeballs. We're gonna capture it!" said the young girl. Red smiled.

"When I first caught my pokemon…pokeballs hadn't been invented yet. They were only in Johto. But after that, I heard that the Kalos region made a huge factory for pokeball distribution. I'm still a little rusty when it comes to capturing pokemon. Why don't you guys show me?" said Red. The young kids nodded.

"Alright!" said the first boy. He walked over towards the large Nidorino. He made a stance by putting his left leg forward and his right leg back. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

_I'm gonna do it, _the boy thought. He opened his eyes and reached into his pocket. A strange marble size ball was pulled out. It was red on one hemisphere and white on the other. He tapped the ball and it grew to the size of a peach. He then launched the ball at the Nidorino. It went sailing through the air and-

Plop! The ball bounced right off Nidorino.

"What?" the boy exclaimed. "But…but.."

"My turn! My turn!" the little girl exclaimed.

"You really think you have a chance?" Red asked. She gave him a nasty look.

"You be quiet!" the girl said. She did the same thing as the boy. She positioned herself and pulled the marble size ball out of her pocket. She pressed it and it grew to the size of a peach, then she hurled it at the creature. The ball went sailing through the air and then opened as a beam of light surrounded the creature. It was then shrunk down into the ball as it began to close. The ball landed on the ground where the creature was standing.

It wiggled once…then again…then a third time.

Then it stopped.

Poof! The ball snapped open and the creature jumped right out, full size again.

"What? No way! I totally had it!" the little girl exclaimed. The sound of laughter cut her off.

"You can't catch a pokemon like that. You've gotta weaken it first!" said Red.

"Oh yeah! Let's see you try then!" said the young girl. Red smirked.

_I was hoping you would say that, _Red thought. He turned his hat a complete 180 degrees and pulled his own ball from his pocket.

"Watch closely," he said. He raised the ball to the sky and pressed the center button. The ball grew and he hurled it into the air. This time, however, the ball opened before it got to the Nidorino and another creature hopped out. It was the blue creature that saved Red all those years ago.

"Go! Poliwhirl!" exclaimed Red. The Nidorino looked at the blue creature, Poliwhirl, and roared. Red smirked again. The Nidorino charged at the blue creature. It's head was lowered as the horn was in line with the blue target. Poliwhirl jumped up into the air and dodged the attack.

"That was a horn attack! And Nidorino's horn is ten times more poisonous than a Weedle's. If Poli got hit, he'd be in serious trouble. Alright, Poli! Water gun!" said Red.

The Poliwhirl stopped and shot a jet of hot water from its hand. The water jet hit the Nidorino right square in the face. The Nidorino recoiled.

"Ha! What d'you know? That water gun made it all dizzy!" said the young boy.

"Yeah! Poliwhirl has an ability to confuse its target if they stare at its chest for too long. It can also put its target to sleep. Now watch this," said Red. He pulled out another ball and threw it at the Nidorino. Once again, it was surrounded in light as it was shrunk down into the small sphere. The ball landed on the ground.

It wiggled once.

Twice.

And a third time. Then it was still. All of a sudden a small click was heard.

"Yes!" exclaimed Red.

"Alright! You caught it!" said the young children.

It had been 5 years since Red and Poli met. Red had soon learned that the creature he saved was in fact a Poliwag which had evolved into a Poliwhirl to save him from drowning. Those five years, Red spent battling the pokemon near town and Red went as far as the Viridian Forest. But he was always home before dinner.

…

Red and his friends were starting to walk back home. It was getting late and the sun would be going down soon.

"Hey, Red, do you know Professor Oak?" asked the boy. Red was puzzled by this question. The Oaks had just moved in two years ago from Johto. They were an odd bunch and nobody in Pallet Town ever really visited them. All Red knew about him was that he ran a laboratory for experiments.

"He's that old guy that lives on the edge of town, right?" Red asked.

"Yeah," said the boy.

"Well…what about him?" Red asked.

"People say he knows a lot about Pokemon," said Red.

"Don't believe it. That old crack pot lives in his house all the time. How can he know about pokemon just from living like some hermit?" said Red.

"Maybe he can teach us a thing or two about catching them," said the girl.

"Forget that geezer! I'll teach you everything you need to know!" said Red.

"I heard that Professor Oak has a grandson and he taught him everything he needs to know to become the world's greatest pokemon trainer," said the boy.

"His grandson?" Red asked.

"Yep! He's been studying over in the Johto region for five years now. He just got back!" said the boy.

"Well, I don't care who he is! He doesn't stand a chance against me!" exclaimed Red. "For sure!"

The group reached a fork in the road. The boy and girl waved goodbye and went along home. Red went his way back to his house. He then looked past the trees and saw the house that belonged to the weird old man. It was a big house. It was brown on all sides with a dark green roof.

_Professor Oak, huh, _Red thought to himself.

Oof! Red wasn't watching and he ran right into a man dressed all in black.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, brat!" yelled the man in black.

"S-sorry…" exclaimed Red. The man in black walked off and joined others with the same outfit. Red noticed something. There was a large red R on their shirts.

_Where'd these guys come from, _Red thought. He then noticed something dangling from their belts. Pokeballs! _Pokemon Trainers, _Red thought. He began to follow them as he trucked through the tall grass. Red watched them. They were worked out about something. He ducked down and watched them. One was shouting orders at the others. Red found this a little amusing.

"It's gotta be in this general area. Fan out and find the son of a bitch," said the leader. "Do not rest until you find it! I want the Phantom Pokemon!"

Phantom Pokemon? Red had learned the names of a lot of pokemon over the years. Even some from Johto…but he never heard of the Phantom Pokemon. Maybe they were talking about the ghost pokemon; Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar.

The men in black began to spread out and headed for the Viridian Forest.

"Comb the forest to the last blade!" the leader shouted. Red smirked.

He knew the forest better than most people. He definitely knew the woods better than those guys. He was going to find that Phantom Pokemon first.

…

It was nearly dark when Red reached the woods. The sun had gone down and Red had to use a flashlight once he got to the woods. His mother was going to have a fit for sure. But Red was getting older. He couldn't stay at home forever. But his mother was afraid of the world. Ever since Red found out what happened to his father.

There was a war.

Kanto was connected to the Johto region and the Hoen was just to the south. But Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos were on the other side of the Great Sea. Red heard that there were more lands. Lands that have their own pokemon and are separated from the others. Most regions tend to keep to themselves. Save for Kanto and Johto. The two seem to have a mutual relationship. Whatever happens to one, the other gets the repercussions. It was a domino effect. But ten years ago…there was a great civil war within the Kanto region. The land was ravished. Men went off to war. The battle spread to the Johto region. And…as quickly as it started…it was over. Five years of pointless war about city boundaries and pokemon rights liberation was left unresolved. Red lost his father. His mother only said that his father was a great pokemon trainer. She said he looked so much like him.

Red was brought back when he saw a huge flash deeper in the woods. He walked slowly further into the woods. He pulled out Poli's pokeball and was prepared for whatever he might face. The light flashed again. As he grew closer…he saw it.

It was small and mouse-like in appearance. It was all pink with a long tail flowing behind it. It was levitating. Its bright blue eyes were glowing. Its small stubby arms and long stubby legs were curled up with its body.

_The Phantom Pokemon,_ Red thought. He felt calm. This creature. This being…felt familiar in some way. Red knew he saw it before…but where?

His thoughts were interrupted. A sound of fingers snapping echoed through the night and a jet of flame emerged from the darkness towards the being of light. Red watched as the flame hit the pokemon. He watched. But the flame never touched it. It hovered there for a minute…and then it was shot away, forming a circle and illuminating the forest.

That's when Red saw him. A boy. He was about Red's age and had spiky brown hair. The boy snapped his fingers and a small orange lizard leaped out of the darkness and shot another jet of fire at the enemy.

The Phantom Pokemon was then surrounded with lightning. Bolts of electricity shot around the trees. Red had watched so many battles on tv…but nothing quite like this. The phantom dodged the flame blast and shot bolt after bolt at the orange lizard. Red recognized it immediately. It was a Charmander. One of the rarest pokemon in the Kanto region along with Squirtle and Bulbasaur. It was considered an endangered species. Less than 20,000 were still here.

Then the boy stopped. The Charmander stood still. He snapped his fingers again and threw a pokeball at the small lizard. He began to walk away. Red was astonished. Surely he wasn't going to let this never-before-seen pokemon escape.

"Wait! You can't just run away now! Do you even know how to capture pokemon?" Red yelled. "You almost had it!"

"Leave it, kid. This thing-"

"No I know exactly what it is!" Red interrupted the boy. "And now it's my turn!"

Red positioned himself in front of the creature. He threw Poli's pokeball into the air. It landed and the Poliwhirl shot out.

"Poliwhirl! Water gun!" Red exclaimed. Poliwhirl raised its hand and shot a jet of water at the phantom. It turned its head and the water stopped halfway and shot back at Poliwhirl. But the blast was stronger. Much stronger than Poliwhirl's original blast. Poliwhirl took the full hit and fell to the ground. It had fainted.

"Poliwhirl?!" Red exclaimed. Before Red could do anything else, the phantom rose higher and higher and then darted away and flew into the trees. Red turned his attention back to his fainted pokemon.

"Poli! Come back, buddy!" Red stopped as he heard the sound of clapping from behind him.

"You really showed me," said the boy.

"Shut up! I did a better job than you did!" said Red.

"Remind me how this is better. My pokemon is still healthy and happy. Yours is fainted," said the boy.

"What should I do?" asked Red.

"Take it to the pokemon Center or go see my grandfather. He has a machine that heals and revives pokemon in his lab in Pallet Town," said the boy.

"You're Professor Oak's grandson?" asked Red.

"Yes. But the name's Blue. And…are you blind?" asked the boy.

"Huh?" asked Red.

"Were you not watching us fight? I could tell right away that there was a difference in strength. That's why I stopped the fight and still have one healthy pokemon to fight with," said Blue. He began to walk back into the forest but he stopped. He turned to face Red again. His face was completely serious.

"Know your limitations…or will only end up beating yourself. Remember that," said Blue. And with that…he was gone.

Red knelt by his fallen friend. His tears stung his face.

"I'm sorry, Poli."

Beams of light shined all around Red. There was a great deal of commotion. The men in black had arrived.

"The field…" said one of the men.

"It's all burned up! What happened here?!" the leader saw Red. He quickly walked over to the young boy. He grabbed the boy's wrists. "Answer me, worm! What did you see? Did you see Mew or not?"

"Uh…Mew?" asked Red. The leader threw Red down to the ground.

"Move on! The Mew is everything! It might still be nearby! Go!" the leader shouted. The gang ran off into the woods. Red remained beside his Poliwhirl. He closed his eyes and raised the pokeball. It opened and a beam of light surrounded Poliwhirl. The ball closed and Poliwhirl was inside.

"I have failed…" said Red.

…

The sun rose over the mountains to the north. Red's mother wasn't pleased with Red being out late last night. But yet here he was…standing in front of the door to the Oak Pokemon Research Lab. He pulled Poliwhirl's pokeball out of his poket. He could see the shrunken monster inside. The top was red but transparent.

"They say he's a mean old geezer…so I always kept away…but yesterday made me realize something. I am not a great trainer. I am a fool. A prideful kid who thinks he is better than everyone. But…I guess the only place I'll learn to be a great trainer…is here," said Red.

His arm was trembling as he reached up and rang the doorbell of the lab.


End file.
